From conception to completion, the list of my favourite anime from 2000 took about 6 months. At that pace, I should be finished with the 00s by early 2017. I’d like to get this project done a teensy bit earlier than that, so moving on quickly to 2001. I need recommendations for what anime from 2001 I should watch. Here’s the list. A few quick guidelines first though. Don’t recommend anything with more than 50 episodes (so no Hikaru no Go). Don’t recommend anything stupidly obvious (so no Sister Princess Millenium Actress). Try to avoid titles you know I’ve already seen, but don’t worry too much about that. When in doubt, go ahead and recommend anyway, it will be interesting to see what people still consider to be good from that year.
The Cart Driver 
Galaxy Angel!
“Don’t recommend anything with more than 50 episodes”
… ;-; It does have multiple season. That’s out. Eh. Eh.
I’ve watched Animation Runner Kuromi. It wasn’t that good, though.
Eh, first season has 24 episodes so it still counts. Although do you seriously think I would like it? Like, seriously?
I don’t really know, to be honest. I haven’t even watched the full season. I remember watching perhaps half or so a few years back. It’s a bit odd comedy, but I found it charming.
Wish I had watched Hare Guu, then I could make a proper comparison. But I doubt it’s like that.
tbh, you could get me with anything by saying it’s like Hare Guu
1> Earth girl Arjuna
2> Initial D
3> Noir
4> Scryed
I thought Arjuna was pretty but total nonsense?
As for Initial D, Wikipedia is a bit wrong on that one. The only Initial D that aired that year is an OVA after season 2, and I can’t be arsed getting through 2 seasons first
You haven’t seen Initial D? Man, you’ve been missing out. You don’t have to watch it for your 2001 thing, but do yourself a favor and put it on your to watch list.
Yeah I know I should buuuut I’ve got so much stuuuuuf to waaaaatch
Initial D is better 😎
Bible Black. 😀
Man, I’ve seen some of Bible Black, and it’s honestly too fucked up for me.
You’ve probably already seen it, but Cat Soup obviously.
Oddly enough, no I haven’t. It’s definitely one I plan to get to though
Mezzo Forte is pretty great. Especially the version that has the incongruous and completely pointless porn scenes cut out. I believe they were put there to get funding, but the whole thing was specifically designed that when the porn scenes were removed, everything still flowed perfectly.
Can’t remember if you liked Excel Saga, but Puni Puni Poemy is basically Excel Saga: The Unrelated OVA.
And of course, Fruits Basket is a great target for laughing at, with Tohru’s terrifying moon-pool eyes.
Huh, I never knew Mezzo Forte was related to Kite. I haven’t seen either, but heard…well, I’ve heard mixed things, but enough people genuinely like it to give it a shot I guess.
Didn’t like Excel Saga at all, so will probably skip Puni
Yeah, I thought Mezzo Forte was a pretty awesome movie, with great action scenes and awesome background music. And for some reason it included porn. I watched the hentai version, but yeah I can imagine how a version with the sex could out would work great.
Oh shit I was actually thinking of Kite. Haven’t seen Mezzo Forte.
Bearing in mind I have no idea what you’ve seen, from that list there’s only one I would recommend unreservedly and that’s the Read or Die OVA.
Other ones I remember watching and enjoying at the time include: Fruits Basket (caveat: this was likely based on girlfriend of the time); Happy Lesson is fairly bonkers; Hellsing TV series is alright, goes off the rails as it runs out of manga to adapt; Love Hina was one of the first of its ilk I saw, your tolerance for the genre will define enjoyment, the protagonist Keitaro is an utter cretin though; Metropolis movie was entertaining; Noir is the first of Koichi Mashimo’s “girls with guns” trilogy and could have down with half the run time; S-CRY-ed is very silly and brainless thus entertaining; SoulTaker was very stylish for the time but more or less impenetrable; Vandread, 2001 would be the second series so if you disliked the first the second won’t be much better.
Again, I haven’t seen many of these since 2001 and I doubt much of our tastes align but take from that list what you will.
I never really got why people go nuts over ROD. It looks kinda nice, the girls are hot…and that’s about it.
Also lol Happy Lesson. I remember looking at that back in the days when I used to search out ecchi harem anime, and even then I thought “maaaan this looks kinda terrible”
Not a fan of the TV series follow up but the OVA is remarkably solid and good fun. Could just be rose-tinted spectacles but at three episodes you could do a lot worse with your time.
US president pisses himself, and White House blows up in the first five minutes – what’s else do you need ?! Geez, what a hard customer.
Oh my god, I actually agree with our boi Karry here. R.O.D. is a comic book-styled popcorn action movie with no other pretense than to be cool and creative. I turn the typical retort you use often on me back to you: Don’t you like fun?
Angelic Layer was a genuinely decent show from the six episodes that I’ve seen, and technically a Chobits prequel. I’ll have to watch more of it, obviously, but those six episodes were pretty neat, if somewhat formulaic.
Prequel to Chobits? Welp, that’s on the list.
Actually I’ve generally heard good things about Angelic Layer, so sure why not. Let’s see if that era just happened to be a good one for Clamp
I hesitate to call it a “prequel” because the two stories have no relevant connection. There’s just a LOLCLAMPverse thing going on. Despite being a kids show, I would still recommend Angelic Layer to most people because it’s smart and funny and handles mature subjects with sincerity and emotional weight, but I’m quite certain you’ll hate it.
But I like Clamp! Sometimes
It’s a prequel in the sense that the Layer game went on to become the basis for the Persocom units. Certainly one of the less tenuous connections in the CLAMPverse, anyway.
2001 is not my year ahh.
I’ve never watched any Digimon, but I heard Digimon Tamers (51 episodes) is the darkest series in the franchise thanks to its writer. IIRC, the director wanted to to deviate from the previous two series or something. But it’s still a kids show and I can’t put a personal word for it.
Angelic Layer was alright. Idk if I’d recommend it but it was an improvement over the manga.
I think I enjoyed Pretear but I don’t remember how good it actually was. But it’s a magical girl series with transformations that needed naked men?
I’ve heard good things about Tamers too, but I’m generally not good with kids series anymore. Which is kinda depressing to be honest, but oh well. Plus I never got into Digimon as a kid. I was always strictly a Pokemon guy, so it doesn’t even have the nostalgia factor to sink into
I was about to recommend Tamers. I’ve not watched it (except a few dubbed episodes), but the synopsis makes it look real interesting.
Except… 51 episodes. 😦
Mazinkaiser, GGG Final and Shin Getter vs Neo Getter are great, but you won’t like them because you have no taste.
Figure 17 is pretty good if you can stomach each episode’s incredibly slow-moving first half.
Scryed is a good laugh, and unsurprisingly ticks some of the same individual-vs-community boxes as Infinite Ryvius.
Why yes, I do have terrible taste and hate Mazin-stuff. Double no for GGG as well, because I know I won’t have the patience to sit through the reportedly 30-odd episodes before it actually gets good.
Scryed was already on my list because of Goro Taniguchi, but hearing comparisons to Ryvius definitely helps
stop digging yourself into a hole, it’s physically painful.
Sit through 30 episodes for 10 good episodes of GGG
Sit through about 10 episodes for 100 good episodes of LOGH
yup
I assume Cat Soup falls into obvious recommendations because of Yuasa. Something tells me you’ve seen Guu as well, so…
-Noir.
-Hellsing.
-Mahoromatic.
-SoulTaker.
First couple are just consistently great. Mahoromatic is rather fun and has exceptional production values that hold up even to this day, as you’d expect of Gainax. Beware of the mood whiplash in the last arc though, since it pissed many people off. SoulTaker is worth because of Shinbo+mecha. He wasn’t nearly as good back then and it has a ton of scenes with simply nonsensical visuals, but that combination is too good to pass on.
Considering my avatar for about 2 years was Hare 😛
Seen those first 3, although I’d due a Hellsing rewatch. Hadn’t even heard of SoulTaker before, but Shinbo mecha sounds like something I need to see
The only thing on that list that I’d recommend is GaoGaiGar, but this lists Final so lalalalaa watch S-CRY-ed
2001 was so so
The Kenshin OVA was hit-and-miss with many people and a poor follow-up to the previous trust-betrayal OVA, but still has amazing animation quality even by today’s standards.
It helps if you have some knowledge of the plot since it’s essentially a huge recap of the show and manga.
Speaking of Taku Iwasaki works, you would most likely enjoy read or die. Good action OVA that later led to a pretty good full series.
Noir, if only to experience the anime that bee train modeled all of their works on since.
I’m no big fan of this one, but my wife tells me that there isn’t one female anime fan that didn’t fall in love with fruits basket, so you might consider giving it a nod. It honestly isn’t bad, but it isn’t amazing by any standards either.
That’s really all I can dig up in there.
I will say 2001 was a great year for hentai apparently
I’ve never really got on with Kenshin. Even Trust and Betrayal I thought was meh, although that may because I watched the dub which sucked all emotion out of it.
lol Fruits Basket. That’s the defining anime that made me go “fuck shoujo”
I think you may be onto something with the hentai comment. I’m no connoisseur, but there’s a remarkable amount of names even I recognise from 2001
That’s exactly what it did. I first watched the original version, and then because I was curious, I watched the dub. Apart from ruining the style (by doing things like adding long screams to someone who was expertly executed almost instantly), they misinterpreted the tone of basically every scene and character … I don’t think whoever directed the dub had seen or understood the original.
I think the original OVAs are nothing short of a masterpiece.
ugh, here’s one female fan that abhors fruits basket. i enjoyed the manga at first until it became stupid, then watched the anime which was just condensed stupid. tohru’s eyes combined with yui horie whatever’s voice haunted me for days.
um, choose a better year o_o
Echoing Angelic Layer and Scryed. Supergals was good. Pretear was pretty good for a magical girl show. Noir was well, it was Bee Train. Vandread was decent for a Gonzo Harem. Alien Nine and Geneshaft were weird as hell.
I liked Afro Ken, but I wouldn’t recommend it to you or anyone really.
Angelic Layer is much better than manga, but still a bit childish.
I know that you have already seen and liked Hare to Guu and Millennium Actress, which makes me content.
La Blue Girl is a special anime for me, but it’s good only when you laugh at it with other people (that’s why I think of it as special – for the people I laughed with).
SoulTaker is very… unique, maybe you could like it if you like anime that you are not completely sure about them being seriously artsy or just pretentious, kinda like with the first Evangelion.
I also see a bunch of things I wanted to watch for a long time, unfortunately none of them would be worth a recommendation, would it live up to everything I have heard about it, save for Princess Arete, which I am savouring for some special times.
Truly 2001 was the year for hentai
S-Cry-Ed and Rune Soldier for laughs… Angelic Layer I never got around to watching/reading, but its still on my list of to-read stuff. I likes me some Chobits.
Reads over list Huh, not much here that I’ve seen. A scene from Puni Puni Poemi that I remember…
Voice: Playing eroge during the day?!
Girl bursts through the floor and punches dude sitting at his computer through the ceiling and yells “PLAY THOSE AT NIGHT!!”
…Yeah, wierd shit.
I like Alien Nine. It’s an interesting, screwed up OVA, although there’s a decent possibility the lead character may annoy you, and the ending resolves absolutely nothing. But I think it’s worth a shot just for the general mood of it.
I’ll back up the recommendations for s-CRY-ed, too. Directed by Goro Taniguchi, so that’s one awesome point for it, and it has that so dumb it’s awesome shonen feel to it. Even those shitty Gundam SEED character designs couldn’t make me hate it.
I dug the Metropolis movie. It’s directed by Rintaro but adapted from a Tezuka manga (though apparently many things were changed) and the script’s written by Katsuhiro Otomo, so all Rintaro has to concentrate on is making shit look pretty.
Taking Rintaro away from anything to do with the writing and plot sounds like a damn good idea to me.
It’s a shame Alien Nine is painfully unfinished because it was quite good otherwise. Makes a really combination of bizarre alien shows from the early 00’s with niea_7.
How about Alien Nine? I heard good things about the manga, though I haven’t heard a thing about the anime. Also, have you seen Metropolis? It’s by Katsuhiro Otomo, so you might really like that one. I need to see it myself.
Metropolis is on the list because I love me some Otomo that isn’t called Steamboy because fuck Steamboy
Princess Arete was pretty good. One of the rare Studio 4C non-CG works. Everything else was already mentioned. Well, Kaze no Yojimbo might be good, but apparently nobody watched it (me neither).
And damn it, Hikaru no Go is one of my favorites.
Someone on twitter compared Princess Arete to Utena, which sorta demanded I watch it. When in doubt, I’m more likely to pay attention to people who say shit is weird rather than formulaic, because at least then I know I’ll get something out of it even if I don’t like it.
For what it’s worth, I’ve been slowly collecting the Hikaru no Go manga, and I like it a lot. Just not really interested in jumping into the anime
Get Hikaru no Go OP/ED collection, at least. Good stuff.
It’s identical to the manga, except with more suspense because the soundtrack is godly, and Sai and Akira have fantastic voice actors. And yes please do check the OPs and EDs out.
I probably should watch the anime, seeing as I normally enjoy anime more than manga anyway
http://mecha-guignol.com/2009/11/30/best-of-the-decade-2001/
I know you’ve seen my list already but I may as well whore it out.
Metropolis ain’t bad, but compared to the original silent movie it’s pretty unnecessary. Doesn’t improve anything and doesn’t add anything that’s particularly interesting. At least it’s pretty and competently made.
You might like Angelic Layer. Pretty much Pokemon with action figures and some standard CLAMP twists.
And yeah, watch Cat Soup. It’s the short OVA that’s from 2001, so even if you hate it you’ll only be out 20something minutes.
Those lists of yours have been put on recommendation probation ever since Reign featured on your last one. Fucking Reign, I’m tempted to call that the worst anime I’ve ever seen, more painful than Lucky Star and Apocalypse Zero combined…well, maybe not quite that bad, but still
I’ve seen the Metropolis movie and I didn’t like it. I know it basically birthed sci fi movies and all that, but I guess it felt too dated to me and I couldn’t enjoy it on anything other than a historical artefact level
Reign was worse than the anime that gave us the tit-bomb? Say it ain’t so!
If you didn’t dig the original I don’t really see you getting into the anime remake. It’s the same basic plot except 1) It’s anime and 2) it’s centered around a little girl instead of adults.
Actually, those two points are the same.
There’s only so much awesome in the world, so not everyone can love Reign and Apocalypse Zero. I feel sorry for those of y’all with such awesomeness deficiencies.
No
Apocalypse Zero may be an abomination unto this world, but at least that’s an accomplishment in of itself. Reign is just bad
Baki the fucking Grappler, all-time fighting classic that rivals Ippo in number of manga volumes. Shingu, school kids fighting aliens. Legend of Condor Hero – i personally prefer Chinese show from 2008, but anime is fine too, if a little cheap-looking. There’s a reason it’s one of the most popular wuxias ever.
I saw a bit of Shingu a while back when I was in my “watch every EVA ripoff” phase and didn’t think that much of it tbh
It’s worth noting that Popee the Clown wasn’t in that list, despite (according to MAL) airing in 2001. Just thought I’d remind you in case you forgot & inadvertently stuck something else in the no.1 spot. God forbid.
Don’t worry my good man, I shall never forget about Popee
I’d like to put another good word in for Digimon Tamers. It starts off very slowly, but it gets incredibly mature around the halfway point. Still a lot of episodes though.
Also, SoulTaker is very interesting, if only for the visual style
Shinbo working with Tatsunoko Pro made for a very different looking show.
Soultaker appears to be the big one that I hadn’t planned on watching from 2001 that I really should give a shot
Oof.
2001 is…rather lacking.
Still, it has Metropolis (which you already mentioned you’re watching).
Also, Read Or Die is a solid OVA, and Z.O.E. Dolores, i was pretty enjoyable. Z.O.E. Idolo does tie in to Dolores, but it’s mediocre and not necessary to understanding Dolores.
On that list…
FLCL
Fruits Basket
I My Me! Strawberry Eggs
Love Hina
Rune Soilder
Hmmm, beyond the obvious shows, 2001 had quite a few entertaining but not particularly great shows to me. I also watched most of them back when I was both new to anime and a stupid teen, so I’m not sure how well they hold up (though I do think Galaxy Angel was genuinely funny, I believe I skipped the first season and only watched the second on because it was recommended to me).
The only good but neglected one on the list I see is Figure 17. It was very warmly recommended to me, I liked it when I started watching, and it’s apparently the one that made the best impression on me. Admittedly I never finished it, but its quality had nothing to do with it – I tend to drop amazing series for no particular reason, including Cowboy Bebop, Banner of the Stars, Twelve Kingdoms, Hare+Guu and tons more. If I don’t catch a show while it’s airing there’s a better than 50% chance I won’t finish it, whether it’s a masterpiece or complete dross. In this case, I believe slow pace plus long episodes failed to hold 17-year old me’s attention. I’d definitely recommend giving it a shot.
I’ll give Galaxy Angel a shot, it has some surprisingly good staff on it. Can’t say I’m anticipating much though
I’ve already spilled quite a bit of digital ink writing about Hikaru no Go:
http://www.nihonreview.com/anime/hikaru-no-go/
http://behind-the.nihonreview.com/20100815/the-making-of-greatness-part-1/
http://behind-the.nihonreview.com/20110113/the-making-of-greatness-part-2/
In short, it’s a measured, more realistic approach to the shounen tournament formula, following boys growing into young men as they immerse themselves into a game, history, and subculture. The anime specifically helps along Go noobs with teaching segments at the end of every episode, so you’ll get the general idea of the games if not the specifics. It’s one of my personal favorites and I think it’s worth giving it a shot.
Yeah I’ll get to it one day
Figure 17, it was one of my Secret Santa series last year and I liked it a lot.
Off that list Hikaru no Go is probably my favourite – great show. Noir probably comes 2nd, and is still one of the very few Bee Trains shows I legitimately liked.
2001 really wasn’t the best year was it – tempted to suggest the unholy trinity of stereotypical shoujo for for the lulz (Fruits Basket, Fushigi Yuugi & Pretear) just because I enjoyed their crappy fluffiness. However think you’d get on better with Angelic Layer on that front.
Cat Soup and RoD are the best OVAs of the year. I’m not a fan of Alien Nine at all – interesting concept, but annoying as fuck characters & very slow pacing – manga is probably miles better.
I genuinely liked Noir too, although I don’t really have any desire to go back to it anytime soon.
Also I was considering Pretear, but hearing it placed alongside Fruits Basket in the shoujo category has put me right off it
Gotta love dem magical girls! Pretear even has a different outfit & transformation sequence for each of the bishies the main girl is paired with~!
Zoids: New Century, especially if you can get your hands on the dub.
But I’m probably biased because it was my gateway anime.
Not sure what you’ve seen but I would recommend
Zone of Enders (Idolo and Dolores). It isn’t often you get a middleaged Space Trucker with estranged adult children as a pilot of an experimental mecha that behaves like a girl.
The Daichis. It is sort of like the Incredibles only while the Incredibles had a few family issues and were taken care of by the government and had a main villain, The Daichis are completely dysfunctional, heavily in debt and they are their own worst enemy.
I do love Shingu but it’s slow slice-of life pace is not for everyone.
If you want to try your hand at trippy experimental stuff you could look at soultaker. That was a weird ride.
Never even heard of Zone of Enders. Not sure, might give it a go. I’ve got a lot of other stuff to check out
If you are short on time just watch Zone Of Enders Dolores. The Zone of Enders Idolo Movie is a darker prequel but it is only necessary to give the villain some depth and explain a few minor things about the setting and dolores.
Here I was thinking I haven’t watched anything from this year when lo and behold:
A Little Snow Fairy, Sugar
YOU MUST WATCH THIS SHOW.I could even make you a list of unneeded episodes, plot-wise so you can get straight to the IT GETS BETTER I SWEAR. Though it is always awesome. Or this is just my nostalgia talking. I don’t even remember whether it even had any actual fillers.
Either way, add it to your MUST WATCH. It is ONLY 24 EPISODES.
K, Scamp? K.
You really think I’ll like something as cutesy lovely doverly as Little Snow Suger Fairy?
Yes.
Yes I do.
It will help you in your journey to toleration at the least.
Also, it isn’t a sugar fairy. That’s why I put the comma in.
Its a snow fairy named Sugar.
:3
I do believe that show was one of the first shows I placed on my “will not watch even if it is scientifically proven to cure every disease known to man” list.
Creepy, creepy, CREEPY!
I’d toss in a recommendation for Vandread, which is a fun romp; but the one airing in 2001 is technically the second season to the first one which aired in 2000, so it may not count.
Do I really have to be the guy recommending Najica Blitz Tactics? Guess I do. (Honestly from what I know of your tastes I suspect you wouldn’t like it, but it is good. Despite its… superficial aspects)
Looking forward to hearing you on Galaxy Angel and Angelic Layer
PANTYSHOTS!!!
Yeah, I know. But beneath the panties there’s something really worth seeing.
You win the Cart Driver award for best comment on the year so far
hello. This would be my first post here. long time lurker hehe. Anyway, since im already old by my standards, i definitely recommend soul taker (kick ass opening theme btw) and vandread. those are my favorite.
More recommendations for Soultaker, looks like I have to watch it
Last year I tried out at least an episode of every single Spring 2001 show as part of an elaborate April’s Fools joke, and The SoulTaker was clearly the best of the lot and the one I immediately wanted to watch to the end. Shinbo being Shinbo (i.e. every single shot being somehow visually interesting), and a conspiracy plot so ridiculously convoluted it stops being self-parody by the middle of it and just becomes utter brilliance. It sometimes lacks clarity to really work, but it’s certainly worth checking out.
(Other highlights of that season : Hare + Guu doesn’t need presentation. Rune Soldier Louie is goofy fun, without much substance. Digimon Tamers is okay but definitely a kids’ show ; and it hits all the obvious plot twists and genre subversions so that you’ll never want to watch any other Mons series ever again. Noir starts off promising but I lost interest by episode 10. Zone of Enders – Dolores had a promising first episode – we need more loser space trucker series – and I hope to get around to watching the rest of it soon-ish. Angelic Layer looked okay but was so obviously a strictly-formula sports/competition series I could predict every single plot development from the first episode alone.)
I just checked out Soultaker on MAL and it has a shockingly bad rating. Wonder why? Well, I’ll be trying it out anyway, so we’ll see
Well, SoulTaker is probably Shinbo at his most obtuse : the direction is at least as idiosyncratic as with Bakemonogatari, but the plot is paced way faster, making it very easy to get lost (it doesn’t help that most episodes play the “everything you thought you knew is WRONG!” card). It’s very easy to lose interest and dismiss it as hyperactive gibberish. I can see how it could be divisive, especially as it came out way before Shinbo got hailed as the second coming for Bakemonogatari & Madoka.
Do note that it’s far from perfect : the storytelling is often choppy and borderline incomprehensible, there are a few early “clone of the week” episodes that are a bit boring and repetitive, and some stuff comes out as tone-deaf (WTF near-parody of a giant robot theme song stuck in the middle of a grim-and-gritty conspiracy show ?)
Still, it’s pretty and demented enough to be worth watching.
My list of animes worth watching:
– Alien Nine (nice OVA, too short)
– Banner of the Stars (realy good sci-fi Space Opera anime, need to watch Crest of the Stars first)
– Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (good movie)
– Figure 17 (interesting sci-fi Slice-of-Life Anime)
– Initial D (best season of Initial D francise)
– The Legend of Condor Hero (good if you like shounen anime)
– Noir (girls with guns story)
– Sadamitsu the Destroyer (interesting mecha anime)
– Salaryman Kintarō (if you like GTO, then you would like this anime)
– Shingu: Secret of the Stellar Wars (good sci-fi anime)
– Vandread (first season of “girls vs. boys” anime)
I’m finding it hard to see any relation between Princess Arete and Utena. Arete is not bad, but, despite being an ardent fan of Studio 4C, I wasn’t wowed by it. Even so, it’s been on my list of things to import from Japan for a long time.
I’m going through the list alphabetically. But I’m only mentioning things that I think are top notch. Though I suppose you should be warned that I quite liked Shingu (much more than Stellvia, for example).
Animation Runner Kuromi: it’s a short OAV about anime production, directed by Akitaroh Daichi. Delightfully manic, with a bit of Lupin and old-school SF anime nostalgia thrown in (one of those series inspired Kuromi to become an animator). Oh, you’re a Hare nocchi Guu fan, so Akitaroh Daichi’s comedy should suit you.
Alien Nine is quite a strange little OAV. It’s about middle-schoolers who are drafted into a squad to defend their school against aliens. Its main character spends her time terrified and repulsed. She has good reason for both reactions. I file the manga (by Hitoshi Tomizawa) right next to the works of Mysterious Girlfriend X-creator Ueshiba Reiichi: borderline creepy and disturbing.
Cat Soup: another short OAV. I hadn’t realized Yuasa was involved, but I believe it. I’d always just classed it as the strangest thing I’ve ever seen by Tatsuo Sato. It really reminds me of the wonderful experimental OAVs from the eighties more than anything I’ve seen made since. Like Angel’s Egg only much less gothic.
You’ve seen FLCL, of course.
Figure 17 is an odd mix — two thirds “a young girl from the city adjusts to life in rural Hokkaido” one third alien invasion. I’ve always assumed the Hokkaido tourist board put up part of the funding — the landscapes are beautiful. It’s a delightfully sweet story.
Kaze no Yojimbo I never finished, though I keep thinking I should. It’s a pretty faithful adaptation of the Dashiell Hammet novel, Red Harvest that was also the source material for Kurosawa’s Yojimbo. The series probably would have been better if it had been several episodes shorter. Basically, a “drifter” comes into a town divided by two gangs. The gangs recognize his value, and vie for his allegiance. He plays them off against one another, leading to their destruction (meanwhile, there’s a 20-year-old mystery involving a shipment of gold).
You mentioned Noir, and Millennium Actress is obvious.
The Read or Die OAV was a wonderful send-up of espionage thrillers, and was much better than the TV show that followed it. I do think it’s worth a look.
Soultaker is one of Shinbo’s most stylish works — at least until Bakemonogatari came along. Beautiful use of color and the contrast between light and darkness. Wonderful character designs by Akio Watanabe. I don’t remember being particularly impressed with the story, but I plan to watch it again just for the visuals.
Sweat Punch is basically a Studio 4C sampler reel. A lot of shorts with interesting visuals. Heavy use of CG.
Metropolis was a pretty good homage to Fritz Lang’s work. It suffers from trying to condense a large, complex story into too short a period, but those flaws aren’t fatal.
I assume you’ve seen the Cowboy Bebop movie. Think of it as an extended episode.
WXIII: Patlabor the Movie 3 one can watch without having seen much of any other Patlabor. It’s an excellent SF movie of the Oshii sort — it could almost be a Ghost in the Shell film.
Okay, weaker things:
Comic Party was fun — it’s one of the few game adaptations that’s actually good. It’s about high-school students who fall into the world of doujinshi. I never cared for any of the sequels. Give it a couple of episodes.
Malice@Doll is slow. It feels like an Eastern European movie from the sixties or seventies, and looks a good deal like it was made by the Brothers Quay or Jan Svankmajier. If you like works by them, you’ll be able to tolerate, maybe even appreciate, Malice@Doll.
I’ve heard Animation Runner Kuromi a few times before, but I have a feeling that was more because it was a look at how anime was made rather than how good it was
Daichi started his anime career as an animation runner, so it does have a true-to-life feel in that respect, but it also stands on its merits as a (comic) story about a young person starting on a career they’ve dreamed about — and having their illusions tarnished, but survive.
Plus, it, and Animation Runner Kuromi II, are only a half-hour each, so it’s not like it has enough time to wear out its welcome.
I also enjoyed the Kuromi soundtrack — I don’t know my music genres well, but I think its ska.
Lets see
Hanaukyo Maid Team, you really should watch it and make sure you film yourself blowing your brains out, I love the brain splatter on wall effect.
The 2001 anime list was very…..dearth in terms of quality but here’s the recommendations from me (excluding the ones you have already seen)
Fruits Basket
Mahoromatic
Scryed
Vandread
Fushigi Yugi
I would really like to see you review Bible Black :p
So-not-serious suggestion: I Me My Strawberry Eggs
More-serious-than-that suggestion: the Cowboy Bebop move.
Serious suggestion: Puni Puni Poemi
I liked I Me My Strawberry Eggs :p, fun mindless entertainment
who hasn’t already seen Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door a thousand times though? Back in ’08 I’d watch it like once a week.
It was like going out on a date with Spike omfg what a year.
I recommend watching Vandread because it’s fun and it’s Gonzo. Definitely Angelic Layer because it’s one of the first shonen anime featuring a female heroine – and since you like Chobits, you’ll finally understand certain references that anime made as well.
Alien Nine completely creeped me out when I was a little kid. I didn’t understand it, I didn’t know what the hell was going on – it just has this really weird atmosphere throughout. Might be something you’d enjoy.
Also, have you watched any Doraemon at all? You might want to check out the movie just so you get that under your belt.
You might want to check out Legend of Condor Hero. It’s adapted from of the most popular novels of China’s most popular wuxia writer, Louis Cha. (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is an example of an wuxia work.) His works are widely considered modern classics and have been adapted into countless TV dramas and Chinese movies. (This adaption was done by a Japanese studio, so you can guess how influential his work is.)
As for Galaxy Angels, I remember loving the hell out of it when I was younger, and now I watch it and I can’t figure out why the hell I loved it. Give it a shot anyway, I say.
I’ve seen both seasons of Vandread a couple of years ago, but I didn’t think much of it tbh. It started pretty damn good when the first line was “women are monsters” but unfortunately never lived up to that afterwards
I think it was unfortunate that they only used the premise for the romantic comedy hijinks instead of actually exploring the consequences of having monogendered communities. It ended up feeling very safe. No envelope-pushing whatsoever.
Still a fun, entertaining series though. This might have something to do with the fact that BC is one of my favorite anime characters of all time – she was already entertaining even before you-know-what happened. What can I say, I’m a fan of strong female characters. 😉 Not to say that BC’s portrayal was completely unproblematic – it just felt refreshing to me as a kid, coming from lots of anime with female characters that I found completely unsatisfactory – like Hibiki’s love interests, for example. BC, Bart, Grannie, and Gascogne were the ones keeping me interested and engaged, as far as I can remember.
Cat Soup and Geneshaft. Angelic Layer is cool too but not important.
Looking at the list, I would say you should take your chances on either Digimon S2 or 3. Just don’t watch the dub, when I watched S2 subbed I suddenly realized just how poor the dub actually was and I think it makes those who watched that season dubbed take it for granted.
A few others: Geneshaft seemed all right, Angelic Layer is something I want to re-watch myself, and others have put in for Vandread, so there you go.
My personal TOP 10 except obvious ones like Spirited Away ,Millennium Actress ,FLCL and etc.
No order :
Tales of Eternia
Spirit of Wonder: Scientific Boys Club
Zone of the Enders: Dolores
Fruits Basket
Arete Hime
Cowboy Bebop movie
Metropolis
Kaze no Youjinbou
Figure 17
Banner of the Stars
I can’t recommend Figure 17 enough. I suggested it to steelbound for the secret santa project and he wrote up an excellent explanation of why this show is so great here: http://thenullset.wordpress.com/2011/12/24/secret-santa-project-figure-17-review/
Also, Galaxy Angel is hilarious, and I enjoyed Alien Nine as well.
Angelic Layer
A Little Snow Fairy Sugar
Mahoromatic
It’s a shame about the 50-ep limit, Hikaru no Go is quite a good anime.
INTERSTELLA 5555
My recommendations from the wiki list:
Angel Tales
Angelic Layer
Cat Soup
Fruits Basket
Mahoromatic
Metropolis
Millennium Actress
You’re Under Arrest: Fast & Furious
Z.O.E. Dolores
Z.O.E. 2167 IDOLO
Jump right to 2007. Best year for anime in the 2000’s.
Read or Die (OVA) Is one of the best ones there. Though you have probably seen it.
Alien Nine is… Also from that year.
Midori no Hibi?
Angel Blade.
It’s so good it’s good.
Also, Shaman King. It may be sixty four episodes, but totally worht checking out. Rave Master is something I watched when I was younger, so I can’t really vouch for its goodness (dem damn nostalgia lenses), but it caps at fifty one episodes.